


Beauties and Beasts

by YlisseanPhil



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: F/F, Rare Pairings, awakening/three houses crossover
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-24
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-16 00:26:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28947390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YlisseanPhil/pseuds/YlisseanPhil
Summary: After the war against Grima, Cherche and Minerva find their tranquility in arena combat spars. Undefeated, no one in Valm nor Ylisse are their equal...until one day, a challenge is presented from a faraway land, unheard of by the duo. Surprisingly, a young woman with blue hair enters the fray and is revealed to be this foe. What secret does she carry? The lives of the three will never be the same after combat.
Relationships: Cherche/Marianne
Kudos: 4





	Beauties and Beasts

“My, Minerva, you must be really hungry today,” said the pink-haired woman.

She was hauling on her back the sixth boar of the day. The sun radiated high in the sky and yet, the wyvern was still working on her appetite. Cherche grunted as the dead carcass slammed onto the grassy plains. Wiping the sweat of her forehead, she proceeded to pat her dragon friend on its scaly head.

The two friends had been through a lot together, ever since they met at Wyvern Valley many years ago. Even after the war against Grima that saved all of mankind, Minerva and Cherche were inseparable. They continued to fight together for sport in Rosanne territory. But after finding no opponent of equal, they retired undefeated at their local arena. Virion was generous enough to gift them with many acres of land as home. And yet, ‘home’ to them was at Wyvern Valley. The numerous cliffs provided breath-taking scenery. And being the last of her kind, Minerva had all the food she could devour.

After downing the boar in one bite, she sniffed the air. A soft grunt escaped through her sharp rows of teeth.

“Is someone coming, dear?” Cherche stopped rubbing her companion to turn around. A man dressed in a tan coat and brown pants with a tall hat to match his dark undershirt approached from the distant hill. Cherche hushed her scaly friend as the man bowed and handed over a cream envelope. After giving him a coin, the messenger parted ways with a tip of the cap.

“What do you think this is? Another sparring request, perhaps?”

Minerva puffed out air in agreement. Cherche’s intuition was correct. It was another request for a prizefight. However, this one was unique, not only in design but also with an arrogant tone. Cherche read aloud with interest.

“To the so-called Beast of Rosanne…we would like to cordially invite you to match, a battle of the century, if you may. Your reputation as a mighty warrior as reached our lands of Margravate of Edmund. We ourselves happen to have a truly worthy opponent in mind; one of many fangs and claws that haunts our commoners as well as nobility in their darkest nightmares. In order for a fair fight, our party is willing to traverse to your homeland of Rosanne. If you accept, we are willing to pay up front a hefty sum of 5000 gold. And if somehow you were to emerge victorious, we are offering another 5000. If gold is not to your liking, we would be pleased to offer, within reason, another form of payment of equal exchange. We eagerly await your response and hope you consent to our most generous proposal in pitting Monster against Monster. Oh, and do bring Minerva with you into battle.”

The woman clinched her fists and grew red in the face. Regaining her composure after taking in deep breaths, she sighed while looking back to her wyvern. If Cherche wasn’t already in an angry daze, Minerva was with her deep growls.

“The nerve! How dare they call me a beast and monster! The audacity of such… _people_. Oh, Minerva, did I make you upset? Easy, darling, it’s ok.”

She rubbed the reptilian on her chin, causing her to coo. After a minute of calming her down, Cherche stared out into the horizon. She rubbed her chin, lost in thought.

“We would be 10,000 gold richer. Oh, and think about how many cute dresses I could sew. And all the food you could eat, Minerva! So, should we take their offer?” The dragon let out an echoing war cry. “Well, then it’s settled. I’ll go get Helswath prepared for these…who wrote the letter again?”

She looked down at the crumpled paper.

  1. _von Edmund._



“Hmm, von Edmund, I see. Well, whoever you are, I hope you’re ready to face humiliation.”

~

The spectators were herded to their seats after many placed their bets at the main door. It was only natural that Anna was the bookie. Tension filled the air as the bill for the main event was titled “Beauties & Beasts, the Fight of the Century”. Everyone was aware of Cherche and her dragon, but their opponent or opponents were unknown. Rumors ran wild, from speculation of the Lord of Ylisse, Chrom to Mage users with resurrected Grimleal or Risen hordes. But to no aval, only one person knew and he would be making the presentations.

Basilio, West-Khan of Ferox, walked towards the center of the arena and motioned for everyone to sit down. A certain pink-haired woman emerged from the shadows in the darkly lit palace.

“And now, here she is. Coming in at a record of 50 and 0, you don’t want to get on her bad side. The heavily proclaimed scariest Shepherd. The Rosanne Rose; the Wyvern Tamer; the Maiden of Valm. Cherche, and her tag team partner, Minerva!”

The crowd at Collisee cheered when Cherche and Minerva walked up to the muscular man. She waved in all directions with her million-gold smile. Minerva was in good spirits as well. Cherche grabbed her Helswath and twirled it with her arms, putting on a good show that was once her trademark move. She put the axe away on her back and took out a smaller silver axe.

“So, Basilio, who am I fighting anyway?” Cherche asked as she stretched her arms.

Basilio simply grinned and pointed a finger across the way. A posse of over two dozen young adults approached their foe. A man with light green hair led them.

“Hello. You must be the famous Cherche. My name is Byleth. Pleasure to meet someone of such prestige.”

Byleth extended a hand and Cherche took it. “The pleasure is mine, sir. Will you be facing off against me tonight?”

The tall man chuckled, “Oh no! Not at all. I wouldn’t _dare_ face the Beauty of Rosanne. No, your opponent is-”

A blue-haired girl with a depressive demeanor emerged from the back of the pack and fidgeted with her fingers. “Um, h-hello, ma’am.”

“Why, hello there, little miss! Aren’t you just the cutest thing!” Cherche extended her arms and squeezed the poor girl’s cheeks, turning them red. “Now, where is my opponent? I got the letter from a M. von Edmund and I must say, it was very rude. He or she has a lot of explaining to do! Show yourself, coward!”

Cherche frantically scanned the group, judging which each one. Perhaps it was the tallest man in the bunch with white hair. Or the man with long, flowing orangish hair. He was very cute; almost as cute as the redhead with matching eyes. Cherche felt a tug on her black dress.

“Excuse me, Miss Cherche, I…I will be sparring against you t-tonight.”

Cherche looked down at the sadden girl and silently giggled to herself, “Oh my! Well, of course you are, darling! Pleasure to meet you…that is assuming you really didn’t write that letter, did you?”

Cherche crossed her arms as Marianne waved hers. “N-no! I had no say in the invitation letter!” She pointed behind her, “Do you see that man in yellow with a bow?”

Indeed, there was a man with brown hair with a bowstring. However, he was in his own little world making poses. The one at current was him being held by Raphael upside-down, pretending to nock an arrow.

The dragon tamer was unamused with squinted eyes, “You mean the one upside-down?”

Marianne bowed her head and sighed, “Yes. That is him. He wrote it.”

“You! How dare you insult me!” About to charge with her accusing index finger, Cherche was held back by a woman in red with long, white hair. The brown-haired man got himself straight and cleaned out his right ear, his face an expression of a cat.

“Umm, come again? Did I miss something? Oh, nice wyvern, by-the-way. But nowhere near as cool and handsome as mine.”

Cherche threw up her hands, “Aaagg! Whatever. Oh, pardon my manners, I forgot you were still here…miss?”

“Marianne. Marianne von Edmund from the Leicester Alliance,” the girl bowed.

“Marianne! What a cute name for such a sweet girl! But tell me, do you really suppose you’re up for a fight? I’m not going to go easy on you just because you are such an adorable girl!” Cherche pinched her redden cheeks, perturbing the blue girl.

“Enough! And I’m as so innocent as you perceive,” Marianne cupped her hands together on her chest. “I bear the curse of the Beast, the crest of Maurice. And you shall see what I will become. I wish you a good fight and may we do our best.”

After shaking her head, Cherche moved first to her corner. Basilio raised his arms, directing towards Marianne.

“And in _this_ corner, coming all the way from Fodlan, a new challenger approaches! Don’t let her looks fool ya, she has a dark secret. A secret that will be revealed tonight! Making her debut, the Wandering Beast, Marianne von Edmund!”

Boos and hisses rang throughout the coliseum. The jeers didn’t rattle Marianne as she was used to distasteful abuse. Her confidence grew by the moment in angry glares shooting across the room. She put her hands as one and bowed.

“Dear Goddess, please forgive me…”

A beam of light blinded the area. After what felt like minutes, the little girl was no longer standing, but replaced by a grotesque monster with a grinning elongated mouth.

**“You have awoken the Wandering Beast. You may now call me Maurice. My beastly blood is roused and you will not be able to stop me! Your doom is already fated.”**

Cherche brushed her hair back and smiled. “Fate…I’ve heard enough about ‘fate’. I once believed in such things. But I learned with the help of comrades that fates can be challenged. I have defeated foe scarier and deadlier than you! You claim I am doomed? As a person dear to me once said, I challenge _my_ fate!”

Uncovering a silver axe, Cherche jumped on the back of Minerva, who let out a cry. The wyvern flapped her wings, making the first move. Marianne, now in monster form, responded with a swipe of claws. The hit landed, causing Minerva to screech in pain.

“Easy girl! You can take it!”

Cherche flipped her axe and slashed at the beast’s throat. The dragon and beast locked up together like wrestlers. Maurice’s claws buried into Minerva’s shoulders below the wings. Minerva pushed forward. A few steps later, the monster was pinned against the stone wall. With her roar, the walls vibrated. The onlookers shouted and cheered for even more action.

Cherche took her chances by somersaulting off Minerva, landing on Maurice’s head with full force of her axe. The beast shrugged off the blows and shook off Cherche, causing her to fall on her shoulders. She wasn’t injured but took too much time to dust herself off. In her miscalculation, Minerva was swiped off her feet by Maurice’s giant tail.

With her belly exposed, Maurice pounced on the dragon. Clawing and biting at her ribs, Minerva shirked with blood flowing onto the dirt ground. With a punch to the skull, Minerva was out cold.

“Noooooo!” Cherche screamed at the top of her lungs. Sprinting at the beast, she hacked away with the silver axe. The damage being dealt was not enough. Maurice sent her flying over fifteen yards with a flick of the tail.

**“Give up. It is futile to continue this fight.”**

Cherche picked herself up grunting in pain. No doubt she probably had a broken bone or two.

“N-never! I don’t know the meaning of surrender.”

After several rounds of failed attacks from the pink warrior lady, she coughed up blood each time she got up from the dirt.

**“Stop this nonsense or I will have no choice but to end your life.”**

Cherche looked around in a haze. Two of everything reflected in her eyes. She shook her head and refused to yield.

“I still have one more card left to play. And you do. Not. Harm. My. MINERYKINS!”

Cherche reached back and grasped Helswath with her hands in front of her. The flames of rage burned in her eyes. Her curled lips demonstrated that she would probably die for her best friend.

**“That axe…one of the holy relics of the Crusaders. Are you the one that can liberate me!?”**

Charging with the energy she had left, she hacked away at the confused beast. Thinking it had the advantage, the abomination lifted its tail in another swipe, but was blocked by the giant axe. Cherche, quick as the wind, reposted herself and continued to slash at the weak spots on the beast.

**“What power is this!?”**

The stunned crowd cheered on her local hero, amazed at the speed and ferocity of her movements and blows.

Cherche giggled to herself and told him her own secret. “Galeforce.”

The monster roared in agony and after several more swings of the axe, it conceded. **“Well done. Finally, this nightmare of a thousand years is at its end. If this body is to decay, then the sword...I leave it to you.”**

The body of the beast vanished and Marianne reappeared in a bloody mess. Cherche checked her pulse. At first nothing…then a thump. Cherche perked up and lifted the girl to her feet as she opened her eyes.

“What…what happened?”

“You lost. Your persona took over and is now gone, dear.”

Marianne turned her head to see a gleeful crowd and a broken wyvern. Immediately her instincts took over as she ran over to the body. Cherche watched, failing to grab the girl. She gasped, realizing that Minerva was in a bad state.

“My Minerykins! Darling, hold on! I’ll get a healer-”

Marianne held up a hand. “No need to. I got this under control.” The blue-haired girl put her hands together then separated them, creating a magically white glow. Touching the broken ribs, the dragon shirked.

“Easy there, I’m here to help you. You’re going to be just fine, I promise.” Marianne worked her wonders as everyone paused to watch. After a matter of seconds, the scales reformed and healed itself. The bones cracked themselves in place and in no time, Minerva was in full health. She spread her wings and screamed. Turning now on the young woman, the crowd watched expecting her to be devoured, only to left in disappointment. The wet tongue of the dragon was dragged on the girl’s face. Marianne chuckled and held her jawline.

Cherche walked over and placed a hand on her hip. “Wow, Minerva has never taken so kindly to anyone before. You certainly have some magic touch.”

“I do,” Marianne whispered, “you can say I have a way with animals.”

Cherche lend against Helswath, “Mhmm. I can tell,” the Rosanne woman put away her axe and grabbed the woman by her hand. “Come with me, walk this way.”

As they exited Collisee, Basilio was overheard announcing the victory of the woman-dragon combo. The fans were also heard celebrating, or at least the ones that filled their sacks with coins. Those that were empty-handed gracefully accepted their defeated.

“Wait!” A male voice came from behind the women. “You forgot your winnings. A deal is a deal. Here is 10,000 gold.” The man in yellow handed Cherche a giant chest full of gold coins. “Do you want to count it to make sure the sum is correct? Oh, and for the record, I sincerely apologize for the letter. I had to razzle you up in order for the fight to happen.”

Cherche considered scolding the man but thought best not to. She waved him off, “No, no, somehow I trust you.”

The man scratched the back of his head, “Thank you that means a lot. And before I forget, here’s a sword. When you defeated the Wandering Beast, it held a special blade. Here, you’ve earned it.”

He presented the weapon with both hands, shimmering gold in the moonlight. Cherche told extra care of it.

“Thank you, sir-”

“Claude. Just Claude is good enough. You take care. Perhaps we will again someday. Farewell.”

Claude bowed as he made his way back to the group he came with. Cherche glanced at the woman next to her.

“Marianne, you aren’t going back with your friends and go back home?”

Marianne’s eyes widen, “Who me? I…don’t really have a home I can call ‘home’”.

The wyvern rider rubbed her face and thought of an idea, “You can come live with me. I have plenty of space. We can sew clothes and blankets, tend to livestock, cook any meals we wanted, and of course hunting expeditions for wild food for Minerva. Does any of that interest you? Why not give it a shot, hm?”

The mention of chores of a typical housewife did appeal to her, but she never considered being a housewife to another…woman. Maybe she should broaden her horizons. After all, their mutual interests in sewing, cooking and animals was a great start in their bonding. And maybe after a while, their friendship can blossom into something more, something like…

“I’ll do it. Yes, those all sound lovely,” the blue-haired woman exclaimed. “Actually, I would have to get used to the hunting aspect, but if its just food for Minerva, I can handle that. I have a horse myself that I take care of. He’s such a good listener.”

Cherche’s lips pursed and gave her new friend a hug. “Oh great! You’re going to love Rosanne and all of Valm, in fact! It has a certain feel to it.” Cherche put a finger to her lips. “What’s the word? Chic, I suppose, is the word.”

“Sounds really nice.”

The women proceeded to walk to Cherche’s estate. Minerva caught up to them and made a low rumble in the sky while she flapped her wings. After a few yards, Marianne grabbed Cherche by her hand. Cherche blushed, but just smiled as if it were natural.

“Oh! And the wine! Do you drink?”

“Sometimes but the drinks in Fodlan were too strong for my liking.”

Cherche stopped her in her tracks, “Heavens! You have to have the drinks made from the vineyards! Absolutely divine.” Cherche grabbed Marianne by her shoulders and made a smug look.

“I will have to teach you the meaning of ‘rosé all day’, my dear.”

Marianne blushed hard, but for the first time since they met, she produced a wide smile.

“Sure, Cherche. I would like that.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to IndigoRetsu for the inspiration of this very short story. I blame you. Totally different story than what i am used to and what i am currently writing. I just hope you enjoy the easter eggs and jokes throw in here.  
> Please join the discord where us writers and artists have a lot of fun: https://discord.gg/9XG3U7a  
> -YP


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